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Foreign Aid Donors Should Prioritize Maternal Mortality In Developing Countries, NYT Opinion Piece Says
One of the "most lethal forms of sex discrimination" is the "systematic inattention to reproductive health care, from family planning to childbirth" in developing countries, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes. According to Kristof, a woman dies every minute somewhere in the world from pregnancy or childbirth complications, and 20 times that number suffer childbirth injuries. Providers of foreign aid, including the U.S., "have never shown much interest in maternal mortality, and impoverished women are typically the most voiceless, neglected people in their own countries -- so they die at astonishing rates," Kristof writes.Kristof highlights the childbirth experience of a 19-year-old Pakistani woman named Shazia Allahdita whose infant died in childbirth after her relatives refused to take her to the hospital because they did not want to pay for the taxi fare. Kristof writes that "[i]f men had uteruses, "paternity wards" would get res, ambulances would transport pregnant men to hospitals free of charge, deliveries would be free, and the Group of Eight industrialized nations would make paternal mortality a top priority." Kristof notes that there is "the dawn of a global movement against maternal mortality," with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon working with the U.S. and other countries to plan a "landmark global health session" on Sept. 23. The session will focus, in part, on maternal health, which Kristof terms a "milestone." He concludes, "My dream is that Barack and Michelle Obama will leap forward and adopt this cause -- and transform the prospects for so many young women like Shazia" (Kristof, New York Times, 7/29).
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Gastrin Plays Significant Role In Helicobacter-Induced Stomach Cancer
A group led by Columbia University Medical Center"s Timothy Wang, M.D., has studied the role of Helicobacter infection in the development of stomach cancer and found that the hormone gastrin, which stimulates secretion of gastric acid, plays a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer, and may have distinct effects on carcinogenesis in different parts of the stomach.
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Different s In Adolescent Prescription Drug Misuse May Indicate Likelihood Of Concurrent Substance Abuse
The misuse of prescription medications by adolescents is surpassed only by illicit use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. A study to be published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) shows that how an adolescent obtains these prescription drugs may signal the likelihood that an adolescent will be concurrently abusing another substance and the severity of substance abuse and prescription misuse.
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Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute And Inverness Medical Innovations To Develop Commercial Test To Detect Early Alzheimer's Disease

The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) and Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (Inverness, NYSE: IMA) of Waltham, Massachusetts, a global leader in rapid diagnostics and health management, announced today that they will work together to further develop and commercialize a diagnostic test for Alzheimer"s disease first discovered by scientists at BRNI. The BRNI test, once fully commercialized, could dramatically change the time and way that the disease is treated. The agreement also marks the first major global private sector deal involving BRNI technology and science. Under the terms of the arrangement, Inverness will fund the development efforts to be conducted by BRNI over an initial three year period. Inverness has also obtained an option which, if exercised, will provide Inverness with certain rights to the technology developed for use in the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of Alzheimer"s disease. "We are very pleased to be working with the world-class memory institute at BRNI, and share in their commitment to advance this test for Alzheimer"s disease," said Ron Zwanziger, CEO of Inverness. "This is an exciting opportunity for Inverness to enhance the lives of patients with chronic disease and continues our commitment to rapidly deploy diagnostics and develop new treatments for devastating diseases such as Alzheimer"s." Affecting over 5 million Americans, Alzheimer"s disease (AD) has no recognized cure and is difficult to diagnose. In fact, doctors can only definitely diagnose the illness at autopsy and there is currently no approved biochemical test to diagnose it. Finding a cure for AD is one of the central missions of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute. In 2005, the cost to Medicare for care of beneficiaries with AD and other dementias was $91 billion and the cost to state and federal Medicaid for nursing home care for people with AD and other dementias was $21 billion. Dementia currently afflicts over 29 million people worldwide, and the annual global costs of dementia are estimated to amount to $315 billion. "It is still challenging to accurately diagnose Alzheimer"s disease, but I believe we are on the path to realizing a test that will take the guess work out of proper treatment," said Dr. Daniel Alkon, Scientific Director of BRNI. "An accurate early test will allow physicians to treat patients sooner and more effectively before symptoms intensify and the disease rapidly escalates." The only non-profit independent institution in the world dedicated to the study of human memory and memory disorders, BRNI first discovered the biomarker test"s potential in 2006. By testing for signs of AD-related inflammation in skin cells called fibroblasts, the BRNI team located a biomarker for the disease that can be tested without the invasive procedures previously required, such as a lumbar tap. The key molecular targets that the BRNI biomarker determines reflect PKC signaling which appears to be compromised very early on during AD and probably well before the onset of clinical symptoms. These pathways could also be a focus for drug therapy. "An early diagnosis could prevent countless patients from suffering through this devastating disease," said William Singer, President of BRNI"s Board of Directors. "This partnership will ensure that expanded clinical trials occur quickly which will be a major leap in bringing a proven Alzheimer"s disease diagnostic to the public." A recent study has been conducted with more than 300 patients in 15 hospitals, and autopsy-confirmations have been obtained from 42 patients. Based on autopsy validation, the BRNI biomarker had a 98 percent level of accuracy in detecting AD. This accuracy was also achieved for the early diagnosis of AD (within the first four years of memory loss symptoms). Clinical diagnosis, as confirmed by autopsy, is considerably less accurate in diagnosing AD at such early stages. The BRNI biomarker showed high accuracy when tested with human skin cells from a tissue bank, as well as for samples obtained from the patients with autopsy-confirmed diagnoses. "Ultimately, the goal of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (BRNI) is to cure Alzheimer"s disease, and the path to a cure begins with detecting the disease early," said Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who founded BRNI in honor of his mother. "I applaud the Inverness-BRNI partnership for advancing this research, and I"m deeply proud of the work that goes on every day in West Virginia at BRNI to get us closer to a greater understanding of the disease and a cure." About BRNI BRNI is the world"s only non-profit institute dedicated to the study of both human memory and diseases of memory. Its primary mission is to accelerate the transfer of neurological discoveries from the lab to the doctor"s office where it can benefit patients who suffer from neurological and psychiatric diseases. BRNI is operated in alliance with West Virginia University in Morgantown as well as in collaboration with other academic institutions such as Johns Hopkins University. West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller founded the Institute in memory of his mother, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, who died of Alzheimer"s disease. About Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. By developing new capabilities in near-patient diagnosis, monitoring and health management, Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (NYSE: IMA) enables individuals to take charge of improving their health and quality of life. A global leader in rapid point-of-care diagnostics, Inverness" products, as well as its new product development efforts, focus on infectious disease, cardiology, oncology, drugs of abuse and women"s health. Inverness is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute


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